Hearst-Argyle Television Provides Update Regarding Its WDSU-TV, New Orleans; Withdraws Third-Quarter Earnings Guidance

Hearst-Argyle Television Provides Update Regarding Its WDSU-TV, New Orleans; Withdraws Third-Quarter Earnings Guidance

NEW YORK, Sept. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. (NYSE:HTV) today provided an update on the status of its New Orleans NBC affiliate, WDSU-TV, and discussed the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the station and other Hearst-Argyle operations.

"WDSU-TV, which went on the air as Louisiana's first TV station in 1948, serving its community during many challenging times over the years, has provided extraordinary service to the citizens of New Orleans and Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," said David J. Barrett, Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. President and CEO. "Although the station initially was off- air, continuing coverage was provided via http://www.wdsu.com/, utilizing the Company's resources at WAPT-TV, our ABC affiliate in Jackson, Mississippi, and WESH-TV, our NBC affiliate in Orlando."

WAPT-TV and WESH-TV mobilized immediately to support WDSU's efforts, utilizing Hearst-Argyle's dedicated satellite network and Orlando-based broadcast "hub." WAPT was also impacted by Hurricane Katrina, with extensive power outages in Jackson and throughout the state of Mississippi, and severe limitations on the availability of water and fuel. Nevertheless, WAPT maintained live continuing coverage throughout the week, while also assisting in the origination of WDSU's broadcast service.

During the initial days of Katrina coverage last week, WDSU.com served more than 15 million page views, and nearly two million video streams of the station's live continuing coverage of the hurricane disaster. The Internet Broadcasting "network" of websites throughout the country, of which WDSU.com and the other Hearst-Argyle station sites are members, recorded nearly 150 million page views and more than four million livestreams.

WDSU returned to on-air service on Thursday, September 1, through an arrangement to use the transmission facilities of Paxson-owned New Orleans television station WPXL-TV, Channel 49. "Hearst-Argyle extends its gratitude to Paxson Broadcasting for its outstanding cooperation and citizenship, which enables WDSU's continuing news coverage of the disaster to be available over- the-air in the New Orleans area," Barrett noted. In addition to its on-air coverage on Channel 49 and WDSU.com, WDSU's news coverage has been carried by NBC News and national cable networks, and DirecTV and Echostar (DISH Network), as well as on the Internet Broadcasting (http://www.ibsys.com/) websites.

Yesterday WDSU re-established operations at its downtown New Orleans studio site, and is working closely with NBC News, which has co-located its network news operations adjacent to WDSU's studio. Since WDSU's broadcast tower and transmitter remain inoperable, WDSU expects to continue broadcasting on Channel 49 in the near term.

"Our colleagues at WDSU have acted with true courage to fulfill their role as journalists and concerned citizens of New Orleans," Barrett said. "In spite of staggering personal losses, their commitment to report news, and emergency and rescue information, and be a reassuring presence for the community, is absolutely extraordinary. We've never been more proud of the service WDSU provides in New Orleans."

"Hearst-Argyle employees from across the country provided immediate assistance and support to WDSU and WAPT," noted Terry Mackin, Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. Executive Vice President. "News, engineering, production, and administrative personnel have helped to address the formidable technical, communications, and logistical challenges facing our stations and our people. The contribution of our colleagues has been overwhelming."

Hearst-Argyle Television stations have conducted numerous telethons and participated in other fund-raising efforts, which to date have helped generate more than $6 million on behalf of Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

Last week the Company established a charitable foundation, Hearst-Argyle Employee Disaster Relief Foundation, to assist Company employees affected by Hurricane Katrina. Tax deductible contributions to this foundation may be sent to the following address:

Hearst-Argyle Employee Disaster Relief Foundation P. O. Box 905 Raleigh, NC 27602

The Hearst Corporation will match, to $500,000 in the aggregate, contributions from employees at Hearst companies and at Hearst-Argyle to the Hearst-Argyle Employee Disaster Relief Foundation. Additional details can be found at Hearst-Argyle's corporate website, http://www.hearstargyle.com/.

Third Quarter Guidance

"The extraordinary impact of Hurricane Katrina will obviously have severe economic consequences in the region, and adversely affect WDSU's business operations for some time," noted Harry T. Hawks, Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "The station expects to continue to provide comprehensive news coverage and support for the community, regardless of the expected absence of revenues for weeks or months.

"In the wake of this tragic event, we are evaluating the potential impact on the financial results of the Company and, accordingly, we are withdrawing our previously issued earnings guidance for the quarter ended September 30, 2005," Hawks added. In its second quarter earnings release, issued July 28, the Company projected third quarter revenue in the range of $163 million to $172 million, with EPS in the range of $0.15 to $0.18.

About Hearst-Argyle

Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc. owns 25 television stations, and manages an additional three television and two radio stations, in geographically diverse U.S. markets. The Company's television stations reach approximately 18% of U.S. TV households, making it one of the largest U.S. television station groups. The Company owns 10 NBC affiliates, and is the second-largest NBC affiliate owner. Hearst-Argyle also owns 12 ABC-affiliated stations, and manages an additional ABC station owned by The Hearst Corporation, and is the largest ABC affiliate group. The Company also owns two CBS affiliates and a WB affiliate, and manages a UPN affiliate and an independent station.

Hearst-Argyle also is a leader in the convergence of local broadcast television and the Internet through its partnership with Internet Broadcasting Systems, and in the application of digital broadcast spectrum for new local informational services through its Weather Plus partnership with NBC and various NBC affiliate groups.

Hearst-Argyle is majority owned by The Hearst Corporation. Hearst-Argyle Series A Common Stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HTV." HTV debt is rated investment grade by Moody's (Baa3), Standard & Poor's (BBB-) and Fitch (BBB-), each with a stable outlook. The company's Web address is http://www.hearstargyle.com/.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This news release includes forward-looking statements. We based these forward-looking statements on our current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of statements that include phrases such as "anticipate," "will," "likely," "plan," "believe," "expect," "intend," "project," or other such similar words and/or phrases. For these statements, the Company claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release, concerning, among other things, trends and projections involving revenue, income, earnings, cash flow, operating expenses, capital expenditures, dividends and capital structure, involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various important factors. Those factors include the impact on our operations from

* Changes in Federal regulation of broadcasting, including changes in Federal communications laws or regulations; * Local regulatory actions and conditions in the areas in which our stations operate; * Competition in the broadcast television markets we serve; * Our ability to obtain quality programming for our television stations; * Successful integration of television stations we acquire; * Pricing fluctuations in local and national advertising; * Changes in national and regional economies; * Our ability to service and refinance our outstanding debt; and * Volatility in programming costs, industry consolidation, technological developments, and major world events.

These and other matters may cause actual results to differ from those we describe. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Source: Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc.

CONTACT: Thomas W. Campo of Hearst-Argyle Television, Inc., +1-212-887-6827, tcampo@hearst.com

Web site: http://www.hearstargyle.com/ http://www.wdsu.com/ http://www.ibsys.com/

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